South Ayrshire nursery manager attacked junior colleague

Lynne Robertson launched into the attack on her co-worker on during a social occasion while an employee of South Ayrshire Council.

The care watchdog found that Robertson, while employed as a deputy manager within an unspecified care service in South Ayrshire punch the colleague on the side of the head, causing her to fall to the floor back in July 21 2018.

Robertson then restricted her colleague leaving the bathroom after being knocked down by blocking the door.

The Scottish Social Services Council [SSSC] put a warning on her registration for two years after finding her fitness to practice impaired.

The SSSC said: “Social services workers have a responsibility not to abuse colleagues and treat them with dignity and respect. By punching a colleague in the head you have behaved in a way that caused your colleague physical harm.Your behaviour amounts to physical abuse and put your colleague at risk of emotional harm.

“The behaviour is aggravated by your position as deputy manager, and the fact that the person you punched was one of your junior colleagues for whom you would have supervisory responsibility. While there was no harm to service users and no risk of harm, this behaviour indicates a possible attitudinal problem that may not be easily remediable.

“The SSSC considered that you were intoxicated at the time and exercised poor judgment. The behaviour was an isolated error and did not form part of a pattern of behaviour. The risk of repetition is held to be low. However, the behaviour is so serious that there is a need to mark it as unacceptable.”